Interview 4: Haysam Eid, the Lebanese approach in hair style

Haysam Eid (HE) is proceeding with this week interview of the DUBAI PROFILE NEWS Blog (DPN). Born and raised in Lebanon is has established his beauty business EIDEAL (www.eidealonline.com) in Dubai. Treating every person as a VIP he is the Middle East approach in hair style. A young ambitious person who is looking for his luck in the fabulous city of Dubai, after living in Beirut and London.

DPN: Haysam you are a young and ambitious person doing business in the beauty industry. How come you chose this sector?

HE: I was raised in a family where Art and Beauty are major. Mr. Younes Eid, my father, is one of the most famous hairdressers worldwide and the owner of Salon YOUNES EID the 3^rd Best Salon in the World as ranked by ESTETICA Design in 2005. In fact, he is not only a hair stylist, but also a painter. My talents, ability and proficiency flourished owing to his constant support and back up. He granted me his good taste and savoir-faire in the world of beauty, and he still inspires me in each and every step toward success and special achievements. Personally I also won at the past the first award of “Fabriano painting competition” while I was still in school, when my artistic tendency was discovered.

DPN: As far as we know you started your career after graduating from the worlds’ greatest hairstylist academy in London. Share with us your experience there.

HE: After finishing school, it was the time to take a major decision in my life: shall I join the University as most of the people do or to choose the path that I am already into. At that time, everything was just a simple idea I had to share at some point with my family before taking the final decision. I always wanted to do something different; I don’t necessarily mean by different something that no one ever did, yet different is to have a unique twist. I thought I would do it the other way around; I would learn hairdressing while I was young and then join the university. On the on hand, my father disagreed since he never expected nor wanted me to become a hairdresser; on the other, my mother heavily supported me and advised me to follow my instinct. Therefore, after convincing my father, I decided to join the world’s greatest hairstyling academy in London, where I completed my cutting and styling studies and accomplished TONI&GUY Cut & Colour NVQ course in 2004. I went to London while I was a child, and this city played a major role in my life. I realized how many different cultures existed there and at the same time I learnt how to live independent. When I first joined the Academy, it was something different for the rest of the students as the majority were English. I had to work hard and to prove myself. At the end I did it. I still remember the graduation day when I did a photo shooting for the models; I made every possible effort and I used all my skills to succeed with. My goal that day was to surprise my father who couldn’t attend the graduation. I also owe my mother this success for being present besides me on my graduation day and for doing the makeup for the models; it is noteworthy that makeup was her passion and so art runs in the family. After that, I went back in Lebanon with a strong portfolio, from which many pictures are picked up for the salon ads.

DPN: Up to now you are the only hair stylist in the Middle East region that you successfully completed the prestigious L’Oreal Professional Specialist Degree. What does this means for you?

HE: Being the only hair stylist in the Middle East that successfully completed the prestigious L’Oreal Professional Colour Specialist Degree means a lot to me, especially because it was not easy to get there. I first had to pass an entrance examination to ensure that I enjoy the right level. First time I got rejected but not because I failed in the examination, but because this course was designated only for the hairdressers in England, as I was informed later on. At this stage, I got really upset, because despite the fact that I passed the examination and achieved great results, they didn’t offer me the opportunity to proceed with. Thus, I sent an email to the competent party insisting that it was unfair to take such a decision and objecting to the fact that they made me to take the test even they knew that I would be rejected. I do believe that the fact that I am a stubborn person got me there, as at the end they accepted me. I even graduated with 94%. The last day, the director came to me saying, “Did you notice that you were the 11^th student on the course this year?” I said, “so what?” He answered, “We usually take 10 people only since it’s an intensive course and you were an exception, very well done, I am proud of you!” I will never forget those words. I will never forget the tough moments when I saw some people leaving the course crying, while I had the chance to continue till the end. I am definitely proud of such an achievement.

DPN: Your father Younes Eid runs a really well known Salon in Beirut in Lebanon. You mentioned that he is your idol, the person who inspired you most. Tell us some things about him and what lessons did he teach you?

HE: Yes, my father was always my idol. At the very beginning; he taught me the modesty, an essential component for success, in addition to the hard work to achieve the goals. He used to tell me “no one is better than you Haysam, if something is doable, then you can do it!” I believe in these words and that’s how I have made it here so far.

DPN: Who is the most famous person that you ever took care in the Salon there?

HE: In my opinion, each client is a famous one; the reason she comes in the Salon is to feel like that. She comes to me to take good care of her beauty and to give her all the needed professional attention and advice. This is hairdressing. For me, the hairdresser is a physician. A client wouldn’t go to the hairdresser if she hasn’t a problem with her hair, and by fixing this problem, you should make her happy, satisfied and self confident, because she “wears” her hair every day. If she doesn’t like it, she can’t take it off! I believe I got the trust of all my clientele, and I have taken care not only many people well known in the art field, but also of famous men and women in the high class society, but I prefer not to mention their names as respect for their privacy.

DPN: You grew up in Lebanon. May you describe us the neighborhood where you spend your childhood?

HE: I was born and I grew up in Sidon (Saida in Arabic), the capital of the South part of Lebanon. I lived in that city until I changed school and moved in Beirut. Saida is a small city, where people know each other. It is surrounded by beautiful orchards of oranges, lemon and various trees. My childhood was a really good one having among me family and school friends.

DPN: What your country, Lebanon, means for you?

HE: Lebanon is my home; it’s where I belong, where I was raised and where my best memories are. It’s where I got my education and culture.

DPN: At this moment you have created your own brand, EIDEAL (www.eidealonline.com) in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Tell us some things about your company.

HE: EIDEAL™ is a leading appliance and hair accessories brand known in the MENA region, setting new standards for professional hair care in the beauty industry. EIDEAL is growing at against-the-odds pace since it reflects our own story, heritage and search for excellence and idealism as well as the professionals’ needs for a better quality tools for their salons. With a wide range of styling tools, EIDEAL offers its customers everything they need, to innovate hairstyles easily and quickly in the comfort of their own home. The brand became a sensation in the market; Professional hairdressers are more and more interested in buying it for salon use and for retail purposes. The current items include a vast selection of Hair Dryers, Straightening Irons, Curling Irons, Hair Brushes, Hair Clippers, Hair Scissors and other various hair related accessories. EIDEAL R&D team is working day and night to design new exciting and creative tools to improve the performance of hair professionals and satisfy the needs of all women striving for beauty.

EIDEAL™ - Excellently IDEAL!

DPN: How the idea of your company came in your mind?

HE: I joined university to major in Business Management and I learned to combine the artistic and creative sense with my entrepreneurial and managerial capacities. My vision was to create a brand for my own salon use, as to complete the march of my father, the designer and creator of a small range of personal use brushes, and to take it to a higher and more developed level. Thus, it is only through holding to this vision, that my work and accomplishment were brought into manifestation. However, my ambitions were limitless and my dreams were ever growing. Charged with enthusiasm and backed up by persistence, I decided to establish EIDEAL™; a brand combining my name with idealism and specialized in hair appliances, accessories, brushes and scissors for professional hair salons. In fact, the idea of EIDEAL™ came to my mind in 2008, started with one product and didn’t take long to expand and cover a wide range of products.

DPN: What kind of difficulties you faced in your early beginning? May you share us some experiences from that time?

HE: Difficulties are always there at the beginning, especially when you start something from scratch, I built the brand from zero, coming up with the name, concept, products, designs, technology and all the rest. I set up the whole team and distribution channel, trying to convince people about the brand, product and quality. But we finally got to the point where people loved the brand and trusted it.

DPN: What is your vision for EIDEAL?

HE: Currently, EIDEAL™, the pioneer hair appliances and accessories brand in the region of Middle East is growing at a very fast pace, thanks to the creative designs and first-class techniques used to provide the customers with great products and unsurpassed services. This is just the beginning of a long promising future in the beauty field; I will always dedicate my creativity and technical hair skills, sense of innovation and the world’s most refined techniques to develop my brand to be Excellent and IDEAL.

DPN: Dubai is a place where a lot of global celebrities are choosing either to live or to visit. Do you believe that this city may play a major role in the future of the beauty industry?

HE: Absolutely with all what we’ve seen so far in Dubai, I believe everything is doable.  In fact, it is a favorable place for the businesses prosperity. Dubai is a very modern and flourishing city and I am sure that it will play a major role in the future of the beauty industry as in other fields because it is becoming the hub of development in the region.

DPN: Do you have any expression that represents the way you live?

HE: “I can make it”

DPN: Has your life been different than you have imagined?

HE: I don’t think my life has been so different than I have always imagined. But definitely it was affected in a way or another by different factors. I am definitely still heading to my main goal and objective set from the very beginning. However, I had to change some tactics to get there, and hopefully I will make it!

DPN: If you could have the chance to do the hair stylist of a celebrity, who this one would be and why?

HE: I would like to do the hair of Penelope Cruz. I personally love simplicity and I find her simple yet so attractive, charming and elegant.

DPN: In order to close this interview, will you tell us how you define beauty?

HE: Numerous are the magazines featuring the most beautiful people in the world, and they are all trying to answer this question "What is beauty?" In fact it’s very simple; beauty is the combination of qualities pleasing the aesthetic senses and especially the sight.